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$13,000 in Village Water Bill Payment Not Deposited

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Columbus – A former village water clerk failed to deposit more than $13,000 in cash payments for water bills to the Village of South Amherst (Lorain County), according to an audit of the village released today by Auditor of State Dave Yost.

“One becomes suspicious when cash doesn’t make it to the bank,” Auditor Yost said. “Governments must have the controls in place to discourage sticky fingers.”

The Village of South Amherst bills and collects for the water used by approximately 665 residential and 15 business customers. A customer’s bill may be paid via mail, over the counter, or in one of two retail locations in the village.

During the period of October 29, 2007 through April 13, 2010, some customers who paid their bills by cash at the counter received receipts for payments, but the payments were never deposited. No discrepancies were found for customers who paid by check or who paid at one of the two other payment locations. A finding for recovery was issued against former Water Clerk Amanda Phillips in the amount of $13,035, in favor of the village water fund.

The findings in this audit have been turned over to the Lorain County Prosecutor.

The Auditor of State’s office, one of five independently elected statewide offices in Ohio, is responsible for auditing more than 5,600 state and local government agencies. Under the direction of Auditor Dave Yost, the office also provides financial services to local governments, investigates and prevents fraud in public agencies and promotes transparency in government.